Hi All, In reading a lot of the "Newbie FAQ" types of threads, I hear a lot of people talking about the importance of having a mentor. Seems reasonable. Just wondering what form of mentorship that you folks all used; was it a prop firm, was it a friend, was it a colleague, was it a stranger, etc. It'd be nice to hear of peoples' experiences in finding, dealing with, and eventually "leaving the nest", with respect to mentorships. Thanks in advance.
"the ones that had a mentor are 0.1 %" Most if not all of the succesfull traders I have talked to be it in stocks, options or futures, or even in stories about them I have read have had mentors in one way or another at some point...people who showed them the ropes when getting started. They kept that going by cultivating a good network of trader friends afterwards. Even Buffet had a mentor (Ben Graham). Go find a good prop shop, find the guys doing well and learn the ropes.
As I'm sure that you're an ultra-successful trader yourself, would you mind divulging what got you to the top? Was it as simple as funding your account and just trading your way to your millions? That's how most do it, according to you, right?
There are some mentoring services provided by trading schools including OTA and Pristine. They charge thousands of dollars for mentoring. You know what the biggest problem with mentoring is? Your mentor will show you/teach you the way he/she trades, not the way you want to trade. Unlike popular sports, there are just thousands of ways in trading the markets. Everybody trades differently. To pick up somebody's style and follow somebody's footsteps is really hard. Especially if you want to truly understand some of the systems/indicators he/she uses but with which you are not familiar. They may or may not fit you. I "grew up" without a mentor. So I became my own.
start with a hammer(charts) a nailbag(market profile) a good pair of boots(wide stops) and just work your ass off
"Bloke" is that a word? Bloated would be more appropriate. You don't get it. Just read the stories on this board...bighog (or whatever his name is)..mentors at the CME...lescor..mentors...warren buffet...mentor, ~~~...mentor...it's the same story over and over. Mentors can show you the basics. Like buying a higher bottom. They can show you the basics of chart reading. Real time vs historical. Yes succesfull people like to train others to do what they do. Succesfull people at prop shops or banks or even hedge funds will help others if they show promise and desire. I've seen happen over and over. It's a natural human trait for most reasonable people to exhibit. It's no great secret. But those people aren't as self cerneted and they actually understand what giving and getting back is about.
"You know what the biggest problem with mentoring is?" This is an interesting post. A mentor will help speed the learning curve of trading. A mentor can be even someone your age who you befreidn who shows youa couple things he's doing which gives him an edge. It doesn't have to be some guy hanging a shingle for sale. At some point in your carrerr you have depended on guys hanging shingles to give you the basics about charts, about MP and all the other stuff. They've been mentors to you. The most important thing mentors do is answer questions and confirm actions. For example, say someone hears everyone say you should use stops. Well OK where do you put them and more importantly why? Why should I put them there? You know I must have read 10 books and 3 seminars later before I happened to run across some ramblings by a succesful trader in some pamphlet that actually spelled it out for me. And it's like phuck, you've got to be kidding. Isn't there anybody around could have told me this sooner. It's sucks to have to piece meal the basics of trading together which is basically how you do it reading books and seminars and stuff like that. A comprehensive course would be much more valuable to cover the basics, how they've traded in the past then from there find some good guys aroundme to trade with and take it from there. That's what I mean by a mentor.
someone could tell u exactly where the market is going and when to buy and sell and u would still lose,..so 1st learn where the market is going and when to buy and sell,...your about 10% of the way there,....now record all your calls ,black and white, no it happened because,just plain buy here,sell here,and record the rights and wrongs, percentage wise... Do all this for 6 months to year without making a trade, just read the market and see how it reacts... Now if you are really good you will get 50% right,down the road maybe 70% max...Now if you have recorded all these stats coming from your brain,your trades, you will see in black and white how often you are right/ wrong, without spending a dime.
"You are not saying I HAD or I HAVE a mentor " None of that proves anything about me or about my experience. Why are you assuming I want to share any of that here? Your assumption is wrong and presumptuous. Maybe that's what you wouid say. Just like your assumption about mentors. It's wrong I would have to say. So please think twice before trying to poke fun of others to try and make a point without any concrete logic or proof.
"no it happened because" How in the world would you know this? If you're a newbie learning about trading how in the world would you know this? Just getting the basics of a chart down can take years without someone teaching you.